Basilica of Sainte Anne de Beaupré…a healing building?
- Toscana Navas
- Jun 28, 2020
- 3 min read
Usually when we think about miracles, we think about saints, angels or other ethereal entities that grants us a miraculous answer or healing. Also, some natural places in the world seem to have plenty of healing elements due to their geography, flora and fauna; but, what about buildings? Any temple, shrine or church is a building if we see it from a neutral point of view, but can they also attract powerful and miraculous energies to heal people? It seems that it is possible, at least it happens at the Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupre.
This Basilica is located at the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. The catholic church has credited that many miracles have happened for the sick and for the disabled. The Saint Anne Basilica receives about a half million pilgrims each year. It is more than likely that next month the basilica will be filled with pilgrims because the peak period of pilgrimage is on July 26th, when the feast of Saint Anne is celebrated. Below you can find an old archive video about the church:
This church was initially built to create a place of worship to St. Anne. Supposedly, the first miracle at the site happened during the church’s construction. Louis Guimont was hired to help with the construction of the shrine, even when he suffered from rheumatism. After he put 3 stones at the shrine’s foundation, Guimont was completely healed of his disease. After this, many people started to report miraculous healing at the construction area, and so the church became a popular place. Pilgrims started to travel to the church to receive miracles, so Anne of Austria, the queen of France decided to support the church. The building had to be enlarged several times due to the big number of pilgrims, and in 1876, the basilica was finally open for worship.
Sadly, all the work done went to waste because the basilica was destroyed by a fire in 1922. The church spent many decades in reconstruction, and the project was finally completed in 1946. It is still believed that miracles are happening at this church. Actually, there are two pillars on the entrance of the church that are filled with braces, crutches, canes and other signs of disabilities, and each of those objects has been left by someone that reports have been healed at the basilica. A beautiful statue of St. Anne was brought from France and it was part of the shrine in 1662, and it is considered to be miraculous as well. Below you can watch a tour of the church in two minutes on YouTube:
There are also important relics inside of the basilica, such as a portion of the bone of St. Anne’s finger that was brought to the shrine in 1670. Another relic is the forearm of St. Anne in 1960, which was a gift from St. John XXIII. The basilica also possesses a staircase that is called “Scala Santa” or “holy stairs” which represents the staircase that Jesus climber to gain access to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate. These steps were built in 1891. I was trying to get more information about the miracles that have happened on the church but I did not find too much information. If I go to Canada one day, I will go see the church with my own eyes! So, what do you think about this church? Is it simply psychological suggestion or It is actually a sanctuary for miracles?
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